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<title>Less a Temptation Than a Gift by CelestialArcadia</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26038033">Less a Temptation Than a Gift</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelestialArcadia/pseuds/CelestialArcadia'>CelestialArcadia</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>SOSH Guess the Author Prompt Fills [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Good Omens (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Back Pain, Established Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens), Fluff, Massage, Other, POV Crowley (Good Omens), POV Third Person Limited, Post-Good Omens</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:23:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>438</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26038033</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelestialArcadia/pseuds/CelestialArcadia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes even ethereal beings' bodies give them a hard time.</p><p>Or: Crowley gives Aziraphale a back massage.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>SOSH Guess the Author Prompt Fills [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1865545</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>71</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Aspec-friendly Good Omens, SOSH - Guess the Author #04 "A Gift"</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Less a Temptation Than a Gift</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This fits the theme because I wrote it as a gift to myself.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ethereal and occult bodies don’t decay in the same way that human bodies do, but that doesn’t mean that the beings inhabiting those bodies never have trouble with them.</p><p>Crowley watched with some trepidation as Aziraphale reshelved piles of books that had already been shelved quite adequately. Not because of the shelving itself—Crowley was by now well familiar with the various ways Aziraphale discouraged people from attempting to buy his books—but because of the way he was moving. Slow, lumbering. At one point, Aziraphale picked up a pile of books, winced, then put them down and leaned on a bookshelf for several moments before attempting the move again.</p><p>There was clearly something wrong. Crowley approached Aziraphale gently, not wanting to startle him in this state.</p><p>“Are you alright, angel?”</p><p>“Y…” Aziraphale began, before sighing. “It’s just a bit of back pain, dear. It’ll go away in a few days; it always does. You needn’t concern yourself over it.”</p><p>Crowley frowned. “You’re in pain.”</p><p>“<em>Technically</em>, but—”</p><p>“I could give you a massage, if you’d like.”</p><p>“—it really isn’t tha—” Aziraphale interrupted himself, then blinked up at Crowley. “Why do <em>you</em> know how to give a massage?”</p><p>“Just a skill I picked up for some temptations a few decades back,” Crowley said, shrugging. “If you don’t want it, fine, I won’t push the issue. But will you at least rest for a bit?”</p><p>Aziraphale looked up, and down, and everywhere other than at Crowley. Crowley was about to resign himself to watching Aziraphale continue to struggle with the books until he heard, in a soft voice, “I do have a bed upstairs. Will that be acceptable?”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“Oh, <em>Crowley</em>. Your hands are so warm…” Aziraphale sighed, burying his face in his arms as Crowley kneaded the sore muscles of Aziraphale’s bare back.</p><p>“My own little trick. Not too hot?”</p><p>“No, not at all.”</p><p>“’S good, angel?”</p><p>“<em>Very</em>. I can’t believe I was going to <em>refuse</em>. It feels…<em>oh</em>…”</p><p>“Heavenly?” Crowley smiled. Even if he couldn’t relieve all the pain, it made him happy to know that he was at least helping. At the very least, Aziraphale was clearly in a much better mood—maybe he’d have to do this more often. It wasn’t like it was a <em>hardship</em> for Crowley to do this; he was relishing in the combined sensations of the massage oil and the soft flesh at Aziraphale’s back and sides. And Crowley couldn’t help but feel that luxuriating suited Aziraphale well.</p><p>Aziraphale let out a lofty scoff. “I wasn’t going to insult you by comparing you to them.”</p><p>A lump formed in Crowley’s throat. “Y-Yeah. ‘Course.”</p>
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